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18 posts categorized "AdultFriendFinder"

CNET - Nov 13 - The hack included email addresses and passwords collected over 20 years from six adult-oriented FriendFinder websites, including Penthouse.com, according to LeakedSource, which disclosed the breach. FriendFinder confirmed the site vulnerability. The hack marks the second time in two years that AdultFriendFinder has been hacked. It was also hacked in May 2015, exposing ~3.5M accounts.

ITPRO - Oct 21 - A serious database vulnerability could potentially reveal usernames, passwords and other information. The suggestion of a security flaw first came from self-styled "underground researcher" 1x0123 on Tuesday night, who posted on Twitter a screen grab that suggested Adult FriendFinder has a Local File Inclusion vulnerability. FriendFinder Networks' VP and senior counsel of corporate compliance and litigation stated, "We are aware of reports of a security incident, and we are currently investigating to determine the validity of the reports. If we confirm that a security incident did occur, we will work to address any issues and notify any customers that may be affected."

MOTHERBOARD - June 16 - Andrew Conru started Web Personals, the first online dating site, in 1993. The idea struck him in his dorm room as a way to kickstart his love life after a breakup. He tried newspaper personals, and video dating. It was "a very manual process," Conru recalled. But Web Personals featured large photos and a whole page of text per profile. Web Personals took two months to build. It was written in C++. In the 18 months Conru ran the site, there were 120K sign ups. He later sold it to Telepersonals for $100K, and launched FriendFinder.com. FriendFinder had users posting nudes, so Conru created AdultFriendFinder.com. Penthouse bought FriendFinder Networks in 2007 for $500M, filing for an IPO in 2008. They hoped to raise $460M but only had $220M by 2010, which Conru bought back and has been the company's chairman since 2013. He has been dating online for 20 years and has never been married. He has no plans on settling down. "I'm still single, which is the irony of all this," he said.

VOCATIV.COM - May 20 - Andrew Conru, an internet pioneer, is trying to determine at what point artificial intelligence develops emotional intelligence, and he thinks he can do it with an art contest. ~31 different robots competed for $100K in prizes at the first annual International Robot Art Competition. "We're trying to answer the question: Is it possible for robots to create something beautiful?", Conru said. "On the surface, it looks like just a painting or art contest, but it's actually a contest to see if we can put a soul or an emotional component in this technology. In 1994, Conru launched WebPersonals, the first online dating site. He sold the company a year later and started FriendFinder, one of the first social networking site. From the very beginning, Conru noticed that most users were just posting nude photos and looking for sex, so he created Adult FriendFinder. In 2007, Conru sold FriendFinder Networks to Penthouse Media Group for $500M, but he remains the CEO. Since building the FriendFinder empire, Conru has discovered his passion for art. In 2015, he completed one painting a day. Now, he posts weekly paintings to his blog, dailyoil.

ITPRO.CO.UK - May 9 - The Ashley Madison attack in July 2015 revealed the sensitive data of 37M people. Adult Friend Finder was also hacked, with the personal details of 4M users leaked, including their IP addresses and dates of birth. More recently, BeautifulPeople also had their details leaked online. "Dating sites contain a very high level of personal information, which can be very valuable in the wrong hands and quite damaging for those involved," said Rob Norris, director of enterprise and cybersecurity for EMEIA at Fujitsu. Are dating sites targeted more frequently than other sites? According to David Emm, principal security researcher as Kaspersky Lab, the answer is not necessarily. "Dating sites certainly draw a lot of media interest," said Emm. "Hacks happen to other sites but is a less newsworthy story."

BUSINESS WIRE - Feb 4 - FriendFinder Networks promises to never use female bots with fake profiles as a method of luring new members. The company is now offering free one-month Gold memberships to anyone who signs up on AdultFriendFinder and can show proof of membership in a competitive adult dating site.

ROLLING STONE - Feb 1 - A hacker group called The Impact Team leaked internal memos from Ashley Madison's parent company, Avid Life, which revealed the widespread use of sexbots. 59% of all online traffic is generated by bots, according to the tech analyst firm, Are You a Human. AM is not the only ones using fake profiles," says Marc Lesnick, organizer of iDate. "It's definitely pervasive." In an email, Fling.com owner Abe Smilowitz writes, "We absolutely don't use fake profiles and bots… Us and AdultFriendFinder are pretty much the only guys that don't." Bot software is freely available online. Plenty of people just want some kind of customizable, convincing experience to get turned on. Facebook's $2B acquisition of Oculus Rift is one big clue that simulated life online is about to get exponentially immersive.

FORBES - Sep 10 - An analysis of the security practices of 24 leading online dating sites has concluded that only seven use secure-enough password practices. Password management company Dashlane assessed each site on 19 different criteria, including the minimum length for a password to be acceptable, and whether there was a requirement for a mix of letters and numbers. Only Zoosk and OkCupid score ~50%. Most mainstream Internet services generally get 75 or above; Apple scores 100%. eHarmony scores 38, while Match.com, Gleeden and Adult Friend Finder all get 30%. At the bottom end of the scale, Badoo and POF with 22.

TIMES OF INDIA - Aug 6 - Within four days of banning 857 websites deemed to be pornographic, the government reversed the order on Tuesday, making an exception only for sites engaged in child pornography.

CHANNEL4 - May 27 - The owners of Adult FriendFinder were warned that it had been hacked more than two months before Channel 4 News exposed the leak of 4M people's sensitive data. The company said the warning ended up in its spam folder, despite an email from an employee indicating that it had been read.

THEHILL - May 26 - According to multiple reports, the giant database of user data stolen from AdultFriendFinder is going for 70 bitcoins ($17K) on the dark Web. It would be easy for hackers to user the leaked information to identify people in real life through Facebook. This could put users at risk of extortion and blackmail. The hacker is also offering to break into any company or website for ~$170K worth of bitcoin.

DAILYMAIL.COM - May 25 - Only 1,596 of the 26,939 users with a UK email address identified as female. That means the ratio of male to female AFF members in the UK is 16:1. ~4M users of AdultFriendFinder had highly sensitive information, including birthdays, ZIP codes, sexual orientations and email and IP addresses, exposed during the hack.

USA TODAY - May 22 - AdultFriendFinder has contacted law enforcement and high-profile security firm FireEye to investigate a data breach. Information including sexual preference, marital status and other personal data (dates of birth, email addresses and addresses) for as many as 4M members may have been stolen.

HUFFINGTON POST - Sep 17 - FriendFinder Networks has filled for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to cut its dept as it's struggling to make certain loan payments. The company's estimated liabilities are $500M - $1 billion and assets ~10M. FriendFinder Networks has not been profitable since 2008.

From FFN Press Release: FFN has also reached an agreement with key stakeholders to refinance their long term debt. It will allow the company to reinvest in its business and secure the growth of their strongest brands. "All operations will continue as normal throughout this process," said FFN's CEO Anthony Previte.

THE DEAL - May 7 - FriendFinder has ~$455M in debt outstanding. The company obtained forbearance agreements with the majority of its lenders. Those agreements were extended from their original February deadline through May 6, and so far, FriendFinder is mum on its next step. Mark Brooks, who runs Courtland Brooks, has a solution in mind. "FriendFinder is a good company with bad debt," Brooks said. "At some stage, patience will run out, and the lenders will have to take that company over and run it themselves. I'd love to see Conru more involved. I'd love to see him back at the helm," Brooks said. "He runs a tight ship." Brooks praised Conru's combination of innovation and focus. AdultFriendFinder.com faces stiff competition from Global Personals's Fling.com, and SexSearch.com. "It's really a two-horse race at this point," Brooks said about AdultFriendFinder and Fling. "But SexSearch is going in for the kill." Looking at the usage charts for these websites, Brooks remarked, "It looks like Fling.com is eating FriendFinder's lunch," crediting a new CEO who has done great things for Fling's business. Fling's unique views spiked to 8.2 M in April from 3.3M in January. AdultFriendFinder's views cratered to ~6M in April from 9.2M in January. SexSearch.com's numbers, meanwhile, have jumped to 2.3M in April from 146,841 daily unique views in January. Brooks believes online dating sites should be expanding their mobile offerings, since more users are now accessing dating sites from their mobile phones.

FAST COMPANY - Aug 19 - Online dating startups are using quirky concepts, and emerging technology--from facial recognition to geolocation. Online dating is a $1.5 billion per year industry in the U.S. Match.com generates ~$400M; eHarmony ~$150 million; and Adult Friend Finder earn ~$250M in annual revenue. On most sites, users take the time-honored route of writing up anecdotes about their lives. OK Cupid broke that model by combining traditional "about me" profiles with a personality test a la 20-questions. Dutch startup Soul2Match is using facial recognition software to pair people with similar bone structure. HowAboutWe requires users to suggest unique date ideas to one another. Spoondate asks its members to disclose what they want to eat and where, to match them based on cravings. Luv@FirstTweet tracks its users’ Twitter history to get a sense of their interests and personality.